Fantasy Football 247 team – Fantasy Premier League 2014/15
We are delighted to announce that FF247 will be running a site team this year, which will be competing in the FF247 Classic and Manager of the Month Leagues as well as taking its bow in the Banterbury Leagues. The main objective of the team however is to give you all an insight into our thinking and planning, which we hope will not only help you with your teams but also prompt plenty of debate, banter and advice along the way. Clearly with over a fortnight still to go until the season kicks off, plenty can still happen with any of the players we have selected – injuries, new transfers in or out, hell we may even have the odd bite to contend with! Therefore please treat this very much as a provisional squad for now and allow us to talk you through it and the thinking behind what we have come up with thus far.
Goalkeepers:
Tim Krul – as soon as the visit of the Champions in GW1 is out of the way, Le Toon face a pretty attractive run of fixtures. We feel Pardew has actually spent wisely this window (that could come back to bite us) and with Captain Coloccini fit and seemingly happy, we believe Krul is great value at 4.5mln.
Vito Mannone – this is one we need to keep a close eye on due to the summer acquisition of Costel Pantilimon from City. Both Sunderland keepers are priced at 4.5mln and once we have determined who is the no.1 they will come in to rotate perfectly with Krul, with our two keepers costing a total outlay of just 9mln.
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Defenders:
Filipe Luis – but what about rotation, we hear you cry? And you’d be absolutely correct to bring it up. However, we feel Chelsea’s opening fixtures are too good to ignore, they have the strongest defence in the league and Jose will be gunning for the Premier League title that he will feel his team threw away last season, despite him maintaining all year that Chelsea couldn’t win it. Can’t fool us Jose! New recruit Felipe Luis is, alongside Cesar Azpilicueta, the cheapest of the mainstream defenders and we feel that they wouldn’t have forked out €16mln to leave Luis on the bench on a regular basis.
Luke Shaw – United’s new left back has been deployed by LVG in the left wingback role in the 3-5-2 formation that United look like they are deploying this season. Therefore, as he will be given licence to join in the attacks we feel that he could benefit from a few assists, maybe the odd goal and could be a contender for bonus points, similar to Leighton Baines. Not only that, but with LVG breathing fire into the United dressing room, we estimate that they will be a more competitive force this season and clean sheets aplenty should be forthcoming.
Rio Ferdinand – cheap, experienced defender, who alongside Steven Caulker should make the Rangers defence more solid. Some attractive looking early fixtures make Rio a good option for us.
Adrian Mariappa – Palace left back and the only likely starter priced at 4.5mln. We need to keep track of Palace’s pre-season friendlies to ensure he retains his place but given the solidity they showed under Pulis at the latter end of last season we feel they are a good bet to continue that trend.
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Midfielders:
Juan Mata – now being played in his preferred and most effective no.10 position. Sat behind Rooney and RvP and with a sumptuous list of opening fixtures, we feel we may just see the Mata of old. If we don’t then he’ll be out of there quicker than you can say Yaya Toure!
Gylfi Sigurdsson – another with potential to be fantasy gold, but with the added bonus of costing just 6mln. A return to Swansea will see increased game time and two goals on his debut makes him difficult to ignore. He showed enough on the rare occasions Spurs did venture to utilise him to suggest he’s still the player that graced the Liberty a few short seasons ago.
Alexis Sanchez – everyone loves an out-of-position fantasy prospect and Sanchez is just that. Capable of playing up top, just off the striker or on the wing we feel he is hard to ignore, despite his 10.5mln price tag. Arsenal’s opening fixtures are mixed and they do face City, Spurs and Chelsea in the first seven matches but we feel, with the Gunners attacking talent, they are more than capable of scoring in all those matches. Whether they win them or not, we don’t care!
Cesc Fabregas – another world class midfielder down at the Bridge. Can be deployed just behind the striker or even deeper but has the ability to get involved in attacks, provide assists, score and it looks like he’s on set pieces as well. At 9mln we feel he’s good value and has the advantage of not being involved much at the World Cup.
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Strikers
Wayne Rooney – seemingly happy with life under LVG at Old Trafford, we consider Rooney a must for our team. Has been in good scoring form on United’s tour of the US and LVG has already stated he sees Wazza as a no.9 or 10. With RvP having spent pre-season on the beach, we expect Rooney to hit the ground running in the league and like Mata and Shaw, will benefit from no European competition this season.
Diego Costa – Jose has been courting Costa for some time and sees the Brazilian Spaniard as the cure to his striking problem. With just Fernando “Row Z” Torres and Chelsea Pensioner Drogba as competition, Costa is the no.1 striker by a long way. With a supply line of Hazard, Oscar, Willian, Schurrle and Fabregas behind him, expect Costa to be one of the stars of the league. Now fit again and with an injury plagued World Cup behind him, Costa scored 27 times in 35 games for Atletico Madrid last season and will be eyeing a similar return this term.
Blanks!
You will have noticed that we have left three spaces blank – one defender, one midfielder and one striker. This is where you, our community, come in. We have 14.5mln left in the bank to fill these spots and would appreciate your thoughts and ideas as to who should be added to the FF247 squad. Do we fill them according to what we have left as of now or do we sacrifice a big name elsewhere to provide more balance? These are the questions we will be asking ourselves over the coming days and weeks ahead of the season and hope you will help us decide as you continue to discuss your own teams on the boards too.
Thoughts on my current team
Krul (pantilimon)
Luis, Ferdinand, Evans ( wisdom, duff)
Cesc, Ramsey, mata, siggy (albrighton)
Rooney, Costa, dzeko
So now we think Pants is first choice which is harsh.
Other than the bench and Dzeko, its good.
With jovetic’s pre season form, I think it would be really harsh for him not to start but Pellegrini knows what dzeko can do (back end of last season) that and the goalkeeper situation are my two main issues at current
You could avoid the goalkeeper rotation by switching them out for a Cech – (4m Keeper), you would have to downgrade Luis as your Chelsea defender which may not be such a bad thing as everyone seems to have a different opinion on how the blues will line up at the back to begin with.
It’s going to be a toughie to call the Man Pants situation, Pants started again tonight but only because Man was supposedly ill, Sunderland have two friendlies left but their’s only a couple of days between the fixtures so I’m expecting each of them to start 1, it’s toss a coin time between the two of them but I’m going to guess at Pants being the starter.
MLS
Why hasn’t Deffoe started tonight?
Any idea’s?
Potty
He’s injured Potty
Reading 1-3 Swansea
Routledge Goal – Assist – W.Bony
Routledge Goal – Assist – G.Sigurdsson
Gomis Goal – No Assist
W.Bony Missed Penalty
SWANS: Lukasz Fabianski, Dwight Tiendalli (Angel Rangel, 79), Ashley Williams (capt), Kyle Bartley, Neil Taylor, Ki Sung-Yueng, Jonjo Shelvey, Bafetimbi Gomis, Gylfi Sigurdsson, Wayne Routledge (Jefferson Montero, 66), Wilfried Bony (Nathan Dyer, 66).
SUBS NOT USED: Gerhard Tremmel, Stephen Kingsley, Adam King, Josh Sheehan.
Jeet – that could be the first team there
Hey guys, I got some great feedback yesterday. I had chopped my team up pretty badly trying to get another premium forward in, but I think I’m more balanced with Jelavic as my 3rd forward. Any thoughts on my current draft?
Mann/Pants Krull
Huth Cahill Duff Shaw Chester
Fabregas Eriksen Kightly Ramsey Siggy
Rooney Jelavic Costa
1 million in the bank so I can spend if necessary to adjust things in the first few weeks. I could upgrade Eriksen now, but I think he’s going to do well this season so my thought was to keep a little money back.
i really don’t think shaw will start every game. with van gaal’s comments on his fitness and young playing so well (shockingly) in the same role, at best it seems the left wing back position will be shared between the two.
jones seems the most fixed to me, and is also 0.5 cheaper.
Thanks jasprit. He’s a new addition to my team actually, as I’ve have Debuchy in that spot in all earlier versions. I was trying to take advantage of United’s great schedule to start the season, but will keep an eye on that. I definitely only want players that are (almost) certain starters.
I think he’s knocking Shaw into shape and I expect he will start assuming he meets fitness expectations. I think the lure of him is based purely on this wing back role but even so his stats on goals and assists last season are actually reallly poor! Shame it’s not Baines were talking here or he’d be 100% owned already!
Hmmm, I wonder if Koscielny or Debuchy is actually a better bet than Shaw. Who else would you guys rate as a premium defender to start the season along side Cahill/Terry? I think 7 million for Baines or Coleman is more than I want to spend, but I could do 6 or 6.5.
Arsanal did keep a while ton of cleanies last season so I’d say cover wouldn’t be bad!
Their fixtures aren’t the best tho so I can certainly see the appeal of a Man U defender. Van gall really improved a rubbish Netherlands defence, so I’d expect him to motivate shaw in the same way…
Doesn’t seem like the best time to criticize shaw tho does it? He’s his only left back after they sold evra, he’s already finding it tough and he certainly is heaping the pressure on the poor lad!
Thanks Bob. Shaw has been in a lot of the teams I’ve seen around here from many good players. How is your team shaping up? Do you have a working draft going?
Sorta – I’m not confident with I yet tho…
I do have Shaw in it! It’s just so hard to fit in everyone I want this season!!
three 4.0M defenders + bojan (in rotation with sigurdsson)
or play siggy every week in 3-5-2 by downgrading bojan to a benched 3rd striker and upgrade my defence?
really can’t decide which one is the best. (already have de gea, debuchy and luis in defence)
Are there even (3) 4.0 defenders that will start most matches? I definitely like to save a little in defense by rotating 3 budget players, but I don’t think I’d go with 3 (4.0) defenders.
my current defence looks like this:
de gea
debuchy – luis – wisdom
(targett and duff the other two)
all i need is one of the three to play each week.
That’s true if your goal is to just field 3 defenders. But by spending a little more you may be able to rotate your 3rd defender according to the fixtures and give yourself a better chance of picking up points. It all depends on your strategy. I had a draft yesterday with 3 premium forwards that I ditched because it totally weakened my defense. I feel my new team is better balanced and my defense is definitely stronger.
all true words RedVT.
will have to ponder on this a bit more.
thanks
Downgrade Bojan? There’s not much to downgrade! 😉
true. but that valuable 1.0M could up two of my defenders from mostly-won’t-starters to definite starters
You’d then end up with a striker who’s unlikely to start.
it’s a viscous circle i tell you x_x
It’s like a rabid dog!
Evening peeps, hey jasprit, I was considering rotating Bojan and Siggy but I think it ties up too much cash for what it’s worth…
…especially when sometimes the both have good/bad fixtures and it can be very frustrating to bench the wrong one!
evening james!
this problem has got me by the balls! i finally feel i have fielded a balance team! but this is one thing i cannot decide.
the rest of the team looks like this :
thoughts?
I like it, but Sterling’s a dodgy pick for me due to poor fixtures and potential rotation… perhaps Ramsey instead?
Siggy in a 3-5-2 with no Bojan would give you the cash.
i had considered ramsey for sterling but considering:
1. the number of goals liverpool scored last season
2. sterling’s attacking position compared to ramsey
3. departure of suarez
i would love to take a punt at sterling.
and will mostly get ride of bojan. not completely convinced though.
thanks for the replies james! really appreciated!
Your team looks quite perfect to me as it is … not it’s all up to lady luck. My only beef is with Bojan, but I understand you’ve beefed up the mid pretty well. Regarding some comments on Sterling and why he isn’t such a good choice as well as Liverpool’s fixtures; one, the lad’s Liverpool’s best player right now … PERIOD! He’s going to get so much game time and so far ahead in the formation, you’d be crazy not to give him a go for the first ten games. Regarding Liverpool’s fixtures, apart from ManCity in GW2, they’re pretty well set up. If you have any doubts, refer Mito21’s FANTASTIC ANALYSIS for all teams’ first six (or ten) GWs. He’s color coded them, and shows Liverpool’s fixtures are relatively easy to moderate compared with Arsenal and then some. Best of Luck and again, nice team.
I had 3 4mil defenders at one point last season, but that was only a few weeks until the January wildcard – I has time to sort it out for the long term and judge the fixtures.
Whilst it may free up a lot of cash, I certainly wouldn’t recamend it for the long term, and most 4 mil defenders haven’t even established themselves as starters yet!!!
The last thing you want is 3 nonstarters in your team…
upgrading the defence and going 3-5-2 might be the safer option here.
i am just scared that if siggy fails to perform, i will be stuck with him without a good back up.
and in the same time if bojan hits the show running… i will be really cursing myself.
The way I see it, you can sell siggy and get punchon (i think!) or at least someone who will start and possibly get some points, if he under proforms.
It’s much harder to do the same with a 4 mil defender as there aren’t many who are likely to start, let alone consistently get cleansheets! You’d probably have to take a hit to get a starter in…
Oh and looking at your team up there, you don’t have any arsanal attack cover! Don’t Rambo, or Sanchez tempt you?
it is very tempting! sanchez was in two or three of my draft teams too! but that would mean a really weak defence! and i want to stick with my plan of having a balanced team rather than putting all my eggs in one basket! (at least at the start of the season)
The defence doesn’t need any more weakening lol!
How does switching out de gea and gilks for two 4.5mil keepers who rotate well together, and getting rid of one of your 4 mil guys for a utd defender sound? To do that you’d need to find 0.5mil somewhere but you could always only downgrade degea if you like and keep gilks…
Personally I’d rarther that as then at least to have 3 defenders for top teams, and you have cheap players in the goalkeepers, who are garenteed to play?
Hi guys, what do you think of my team,
Mannone
Filipe Luis, Shaw, Koscielny,
Eriksen, Ramsey, Henderson, Mata
Giroud, Dzeko, Rooney
Bench – Krul, Noble, Wisdom, Dummett
Nice team Dazza.
Got to say a lot of these teams are starting to look the same to me. Nothing against you mate, i think maybe i’ve been staring at these players for too long today!
I’d question the sub defenders. Gametime risk on both i think.
I like Noble and Henderson. Good shouts for the money and plenty of potential tp pick up points.
I’ve not studied the fixtures in any detail, but the general theme on here lately is that Chelsea have a decent start, so maybe try to add to luis. Hazard or Costa maybe?
Cheers
doubts over the playing time for shaw, wisdom, dummett and even dzeko.
noble also is just a constant 2 pointer.
i would suggest you to look toward sigurdsson, puncheon, snodgrass etc for your mid field.
jones over shaw and upgrading dummett to collochini should work well
Dummett has to go as he’ll be serving his three game suspension at the start of the season.
Wow, i missed that Andy. What did he do?
He got Senor Suarez a cracker at the end of last season.
Oh wow. Good lad. Take one for the team. I’m sure there’s a few defenders that would like another crack at goofy.
Loving the image uploads, like FB now but just footy based and without the tossers B)
Well, at least its footy based…..
Cheers
The red card was rescinded and dummet won’t serve a ban anymore